Letters to the Editor: Lynbrook, East Rockaway

Posted
Wednesday, January 22, 2014 2:10 pm

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

It’s time for term limits

To the Editor: Today, more than ever, evidence clearly points to a need for term limits. There are those who feel that our right to vote gives us the power to select the best person. But today, our votes have been diluted through gerrymandering communities, the cost of running for office and the patronage system. Look at the last county executive race and its cost, with two career politicians pitted against each other. Where were the new ideas from different people? Is this the best Nassau County has to offer at election time? Look at the six names offered to run for Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy’s seat. Where are new people with fresh ideas? Look at Albany, which is hurt by one powerful assemblyman by the name of Sheldon Silver. Even when we get lucky to unseat an incumbent — which is rare — that person’s ability to deliver is crushed by the power of those in office for many years. Look at towns, villages and Washington, D.C., where the approval rating is very low, but incumbents still go back year after year. The only people who are against term limits are career politicians and those who benefit from patronage. The rest of us get to vote for the lesser of two evils. The evidence clearly supports the idea that term limits are desperately needed to give voters a better choice. Do we really need career politicians? We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by limiting the number of years in office and the power of the incumbent. Do you think incumbents would be so quick to raise their pay after every election if their terms were limited? Patrick NicolosiElmont

Decries town salaries

To the Editor: According to a recent published report, the Town of Hempstead pays among the highest salaries on Long Island, which would, in part, account for our high property taxes. Something’s wrong when Town of Hempstead salaries are off the charts compared with other Long Island towns. I don’t begrudge anyone for making a decent salary, but Hempstead’s extremely high salaries are coming off the backs of senior citizens and families with children.

Sid Tanenbaum, who lived in Woodmere and owned a metal-stamping shop in Far Rockaway, where he was known more for his charitable ways than his two-handed set shot, has been honored for the past 30 years with a basketball tournament that raises scholarship money for students in the Five Towns.